Greece in 1998

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The main issues in Greece in 1998 were local elections, economic reform, and relations with Turkey and Cyprus. The elections on October 11 and 18 were the first to be held after a recent administrative reform greatly reduced the number of municipalities. The main opposition party, New Democracy, won the three biggest cities and carried 27 of the country’s 64 prefectures. The ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) lost heavily but still prevailed in 433 of 900 municipalities. Probably because of Pasok’s weak showing Prime Minister Konstantinos ("Kostas") Simitis shuffled his Cabinet, called a vote of confidence, and won it after pressuring Pasok deputies to support him.

Simitis also aimed at restructuring Greece’s economic framework, especially the oversized public sector. In January a new tax bill was submitted to the legislature. On June 24 the government submitted a new draft bill on labour relations that would provide part-time work in the public sector and generally promote flexibility in the labour market. These attempts to overhaul the economy met with numerous protests from, among others, teachers, farmers, seamen, and pilots.

On March 14 the Greek drachma was devalued by about 14%. This enabled the Greek currency to join the European Union’s exchange-rate mechanism, helped to improve the competitiveness of Greek products, and put a temporary end to speculative attacks against the drachma.

The government’s measures helped to improve the state of the economy, but the momentum of the past years was somewhat lost. Gross domestic product and industrial output continued to grow, and inflation fell but at a lower rate than in previous years. In August year-on-year inflation stood at 5%, twice the government’s year-end target of 2.5%. In mid-September the government had to adjust its target for the 1999 budget deficit, partly owing to the international financial crisis. The International Monetary Fund, in its annual report on the Greek economy, urged the government to adhere strictly to its austerity program and radically restructure the public sector.

High on the privatization agenda in 1998 were Olympic Airways and Ionian Bank. Two top officials of Olympic resigned in 1998, and talks between the government, Olympic’s management, and staff proved difficult. Repeated strikes and protests added to the company’s woes. A bill to restructure the carrier was passed on April 9, but amid continued conflict Olympic’s survival seemed far from certain as no prospective buyers came forward. The attempt to privatize Ionian Bank also led to protests and strikes, and an offer to sell the bank was canceled on August 25 because all bids were deemed unsatisfactory.

New Democracy, the main opposition party, continued to be plagued by internal strife. On February 3, after failing to vote against a government-sponsored bill, three of the party’s legislators were expelled and three had their membership suspended. By contrast, Pasok managed to remain relatively disciplined, although a clash within the party between "reformers" and "populists" may have only been postponed until a party congress set for March 1999.

Throughout the year Greece witnessed an unprecedented number of terrorist attacks, mostly on banks, businesses, and diplomats’ cars. In the summer disastrous forest fires hit the country, some of which threatened Athens, Mt. Olympus, and the ancient sites of Olympia.

Foreign relations were dominated by relations with Turkey. Greece’s continued backing of Cyprus on all issues concerning that nation’s Turkish-speaking minority, including Cyprus’s plan to install Russian antiaircraft missiles, did not help improve the situation. Also, Greece complained about frequent violations of its airspace by Turkish military planes. Renewed Turkish proposals to demilitarize the Greek Aegean Islands were rejected by Greece. Several high-level meetings failed to bring about any improvement in relations between the two countries, although in June both sides agreed to implement fully a 1988 agreement concerning rules of conduct related to military activities in the Aegean.

Relations with Macedonia continued to improve. There were several meetings between leaders of the two nations, and Greece continued to be one of Macedonia’s main trading partners. Relations with Albania and Bulgaria also improved, although issues such as the status of illegal Albanian immigrants and the security of Bulgaria’s nuclear power plant in Kozloduy remained unresolved. Greece largely followed the EU line on the conflict within Yugoslavia concerning ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, and formerly good relations between Athens and Belgrade deteriorated somewhat.

In 1998 Greece lost two important personalities. On April 23 former prime minister and president Konstantinos Karamanlis died, and, after 24 years at the helm of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Seraphim died on April 10. (See OBITUARIES.) Seraphim was succeeded by Metropolitan Christodoulos of Dimitriadas.

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